Stranger!
“You look flustered. Are you fine?” Simon asked Veil as she got to the first floor, armed with her purse. The ride from the sixteenth floor to the first floor had been too quiet for her so much so that her mind had decided the best thing to do to while away time was to replay her kiss with the CEO of Kingston Group.
“I’m fine, Simon,” Veil breathed, trying not to wobble on her feet. She still hadn’t recovered from that intense moment, and she really needed to go home immediately.
But Simon was still talking and she didn’t want to cut him off.
“Are you sure? Your face is red. Are you…”
Veil knew he was just genuinely concerned, but she just wanted to be out of there.
“I’m just tired, Simon. It’s been a really long day, with Mr Rodriguez treating me like ….” Closing her eyes, Veil took a deep breath and tried again. “I just need to get some rest.”
That seemed to have done the trick as Simon nodded and wished her a splendid evening.
As Veil got outside the building, a red Lexus sports car parked in front of her, and wound the window down.
“I thought you’d need a ride,” Orleans said, smiling up at Veil. “But now that I’m here, I think you need more than that.”
“Is it that obvious?” Veil asked, walking to the other side of the car, and getting into the passenger’s seat. Orleans allowed her to get the seat belt in before hitting the gas.
“You look like you just had some news delivered to you.”
“Welll, if the fact that I have to be at work by 5 am tomorrow counts, then I definitely had some news delivered to me.” Sighing, Veil slumped into the leather seat of his car.
Although Orleans was a really nice person, Veil decided that she didn’t know him enough to tell him about what happened with her boss.
“And now, you’re cranky,” Orleans muttered, turning a corner. “Are you sure you don’t want to leave the company? I’m sure you can find another job somewhere.”
“I need the money,” Veil blurted before she could stop herself. “Erm…It’s just…”
“You don’t have to tell me anything.” Orleans came to her rescue. “After all, I’m just a stranger who you flagged down on a certain beautiful night, mistaking my car for an Uber.”
“You aren’t going to ever let that go, are you?” Veil asked, chuckling.
“Never!” Orleans laughed a deep-set sound that made Veil laugh again. “It might just be the evidence I need when you start complaining about your eyesight and I force you to see an optician.”
“It was dark! And you didn’t even bother to correct me.”
“There was a beautiful lady freely offering to keep me company for a few minutes. The last thing on my mind was to tell you no.”
“And I made you go out of your way,” Veil whined.
“I didn’t mind, just as I don’t mind taking you out for ice cream. Come on, let’s go.”NôvelDrama.Org owns © this.
Veil hadn’t even realized that the car had stopped moving and that they were parked in front of an ice cream place.
“They sell the best ice cream around,” Orleans offered when Veil kept looking out through the window. “And they’ve also been proven to be authentic mood lifters, the best even, after me.”
“Of course,” Veil laughed as they alighted the car and walked inside. While the ladies all seemed to check Orleans out, he barely noticed them as he led the way to the booth closest to the window.
A waiter came to get their orders and returned in a few minutes with them. While Veil asked for a medium cup of chocolate mint, Orleans wanted vanilla and strawberry, joking that he was a local man who preferred it simple.
Veil was really having a good time, especially since she didn’t want to think about what happened earlier that day. But the thought came back at intervals, like when Orleans’ phone rang and he had to step outside to receive it.
Since she couldn’t stay out for too long because of work the next morning, Orleans drove her home without complaint.
“I hope you had fun today?” He asked as he pulled outside. “You looked like you had a lot on your plate and I really wanted to do something.”
“The ice cream sure helped,” Veil answered, smiling. “Thank you, Orleans.”
“My pleasure. Have a beautiful night’s rest.”
“You too.”
Veil got out of the car and made the short walk to her porch. She turned to wave Orleans until he drove out of sight before proceeding inside. Veil had already had too much ice cream that day, and although, she knew she needed to eat something more healthy before going to bed, she was too exhausted to make anything.
She made her way to her bedroom but halted suddenly just before the hallway, all her senses instantly heightened. Although she hadn’t noticed it the instant she walked into the house because of her exhaustion, she could sure tell now.
There was someone else in the house.
Veil tried to mentally trace back her steps, noting that she hadn’t used her keys to get in because she had met the door open. It was too late to return outside to check under the footman to see if the spare key was still there. If she did that, she could risk tipping whoever it was that she already found out.
Slowly, Veil dropped her purse on the small table by her side and removed her shoes as well. She grabbed the baseball bat June’s brother had insisted they kept since they were both two single women living together, then proceeded to the kitchen where she had heard the sound coming from.
Veil lifted the bat as she reached the kitchen door, taking a deep breath before pushing it open. She saw a pair of legs first and screamed at the top of her lungs as she put enough energy in her hands. But suddenly, the person in the kitchen screamed as she saw Veil, her eyes widening.
“What the fuck are you doing?”